The following conventional vapor-liquid contacting equipments are known.
In a vapor-liquid contacting equipment disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. Sho 47-15375, the inside of the contact column is partitioned into a plurality of contact chambers by divider plates (trays), each having a flowing hole in the center section thereof. The test liquid undergoes diffusion spraying (is discharged) by a rotor provided in each contact chamber and is caught by the divider plate (tray) and flows sequentially down through the flowing hole to the rotor below, and undergoes forced contact with a vapor introduced into the contact column, thereby achieving contact between the test liquid and the vapor.
A centrifugal turning contact tray disclosed in Japanese Examined Patent Application, Second Publication No. Sho. 58-21523 is fixed inside a contact column where the test liquid and the vapor are contacted, and comprises a circular disc which is fixed so as not to rotate, a circular hydroseal formed from two tubular rings which is provided on this circular disc, arched slots for vapor transmission which are formed in the circular disc and extend towards the periphery of the circular disc, and a curved disc in the shape of an Archimedes spiral which circulates the test liquid.
A counterflow contact device disclosed in Japanese Examined Patent Application, Second Publication No. Hei. 7-22646 comprises a housing (contact column) which has a vertical longitudinal shaft, a rotatable central shaft, a cone shaped rotor which is mounted on the central shaft, fins which are formed underneath the cone shaped rotor and extend in a radially outward direction, and a frustum surface (trays) immediately beneath the cone shaped rotor, wherein the test liquid flows over the surface of the cone shaped rotor and is contacted with the vapor.
A trickle film vapor-liquid contacting equipment disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. Hei. 6-194073 comprises a spiral base made from a heat transfer material which sends the liquid to be processed (the test liquid) flowing down in a filmy condition, and a wall made of a heat transfer material which is in thermal contact with the base. The base and the wall are formed from a vertical stack of plates which display angular excursion with respect to one another due to the rotation of the base about its axis.
In this conventional technology, rotors provided inside the contact column are rotated in a constant direction, while a test liquid such as a slurry or a solution is sent flowing down from the top of the contact column to the rotors and the trays, and the test liquid spreads thinly on the rotors and flows sequentially downward to the rotors and trays below, and during this process contacts a vapor (for example steam or the like) which is simultaneously blown in from the bottom of the contact column to the top, thereby offering a practical device which achieves an efficient contact between a vapor and a liquid.
Such a vapor-liquid contacting equipment is used mainly to produce aroma component liquids by assimilating a flavor component in the test liquid into the steam and collecting the aroma component, or to deodorize test liquids, or the like.
In such a vapor-liquid contacting equipment, the vapor-liquid contacting efficiency should preferably be as high as possible, and the development of devices with even higher contacting efficiency is desirable. Specifically, if the contacting efficiency is improved, the height of the contact column can be reduced, and consequently, there are advantages in that the entire device can be made smaller, and the cost of investment can be reduced.